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feverish

[fee-ver-ish]
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adjective
  1. having fever.
  2. pertaining to, of the nature of, or resembling fever: a feverish excitement.
  3. excited, restless, or uncontrolled, as if from fever.
  4. having a tendency to produce fever.
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Origin of feverish

First recorded in 1350–1400, feverish is from the Middle English word feverisch. See fever, -ish1
Related formsfe·ver·ish·ly, adverbfe·ver·ish·ness, nounnon·fe·ver·ish, adjectivenon·fe·ver·ish·ly, adverbnon·fe·ver·ish·ness, nounpseu·do·fe·ver·ish, adjectivepseu·do·fe·ver·ish·ly, adverbun·fe·ver·ish, adjective
Can be confusedfervent fever feverish

Synonyms

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3. frenzied, impatient, fervent, wrought-up.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

fieryhecticfeveredfrenziedfranticheatedfuriousfreneticpassionaterestlessobsessivefebrileburningflushedhotinflamedpyreticdistractedfervidhigh-strung

Examples from the Web for feverish

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • "No, I ain't nervous," Garson cried, with a feverish effort to appear calm.

    Within the Law

    Marvin Dana

  • His appearance might have been the effect of a feverish cold.

    The Secret Agent

    Joseph Conrad

  • For there she would feel no need of feverish action to pass the time.

    Tiverton Tales

    Alice Brown

  • Sophy was unwell, was feverish; the scarlet fever had been in the neighbourhood.

  • She did not eat; she did not drink; she looked haggard and feverish.

British Dictionary definitions for feverish

feverish

feverous

adjective
  1. suffering from fever, esp a slight fever
  2. in a state of restless excitement
  3. of, relating to, caused by, or causing fever
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Derived Formsfeverishly or feverously, adverbfeverishness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for feverish

adj.

late 14c., "causing fever;" 1630s, "excited;" 1640s, "having symptoms of fever," from fever + -ish. Earlier in same sense was feverous (late 14c.). Related: Feverishly; feverishness.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
feverish in Medicine

feverish

(fē′vər-ĭsh)
adj.
  1. Having a fever.
  2. Relating to or resembling a fever.
  3. Causing or tending to cause a fever.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.